Manganese

Babies under one year of age are more sensitive to the effects of manganese in drinking water, especially if they are fed commercial formulas using tap water. These already contain the amount of manganese required for healthy baby development.

Excessive levels of manganese can have an impact on a child's neurological development, such as reduced learning capacity.

If you have an artesian well, you should have your water tested for manganese.

If the manganese result in your water exceeds the standard of 0.120 mg/l (120 µg/l):

• you should use another reliable source of water for bottle-feeding and feeding babies under one year of age.
• other family members should avoid regularly consuming water containing more than 0.300 mg/l (300 µg/l) manganese. Water should remain a low source of manganese.

Boiling water to remove manganese is unnecessary. It may even increase the amount of manganese in the water.

However, even when the amount of manganese is lower than the norm, it can:

• result in a brownish or yellowish color;
• leave stains on clothing

Effective devices are available to reduce the amount of manganese in tap water.

You can install a residential water treatment system to reduce the amount of manganese in water to an acceptable level. Make sure you install a system certified to NSF/ANSI 42 and follow the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations.

It is important to check the effectiveness of the treatment by having the treated water analyzed every year.